It's a painful wait for LPG cylinders

Most consumers complain that delays in delivery of cylinders, long waiting periods in getting second cylinders, over-charging and alleged black-marketing.

| TNN | Nov 28, 2012, 10.14 AM IST

VISAKHAPATNAM: When A K Mohanty, an Indane consumer, booked a gas cylinder on November 12, he was assured that it would be delivered within seven days. After 10 days of waiting, he enquired about its status only to be told that he would have to wait for another 10 days.

When Mohanty pressed the agency authorities for a definite answer he was told he would get it the very next day. Finally, the cylinder was delivered after waiting for a fortnight. The excuse for the delay given by the agency -- shortage of gas supply from the company, a fact that has since been denied by the company.

V G Rao, a resident of Lawson's Bay Colony, who had applied for a second cylinder, has a similar story of delays to tell. "I was told to wait for three months for the connection by those running the agency but when I checked with the LPG sales officer, he said I'm supposed to get the second one within 24 hours or can directly take it from the agency by paying the required amount."

Consumers in the port city are running out of gas thanks to various irregularities clogging up the LPG cylinder supply. There are over 5.84 lakh domestic gas connections in the city being catered to by 38 gas agencies belonging to HPCL, IOCL and BPCL under the control of three sales officers.

Most consumers complain that delays in delivery of cylinders, long waiting periods in getting second cylinders, over-charging and alleged black-marketing are now becoming more the norm than exception. Aggravating the problem is the lack of coordination between the LPG sales offices, agencies, delivery people and lack of awareness among consumers about certain new policies of the government.

P Uma, an HPCL consumer, has similar stories to share, "While a 15-day backlog in supply is a normal affair, some of us are also facing problems due to the unscheduled deliveries. Cylinders aren't delivered on the scheduled date and when we enquire, they say the door was locked even though that may not be the case. We suspect delivery boys are selling cylinders in black at a higher price of Rs 800-1,000. Each time there is any issue, we have to rush to the agency as nobody ever answers the call."

Even as consumers fume, gas agencies and oil and gas marketing companies are busy playing the blame game. While an agency owner from MVP Colony said they were unable to supply cylinders on time due to an acute shortage from the company, officials of the companies put the blame for the delays at the distributor's end.

Denying the woes of consumers stem from shortage of gas supply, D Mohan Rao, an IOCL sales officer said, "There might be some delays in delivery due to distributor related problems, but there's no shortage of supply from the company as enough gas is available all over India as well as in the city."

When contacted, N Jwala Prakash, district civil supply officer (DCSO), said regular complaints from the public have been streaming on delays and non-delivery of cylinders, as well as transfer of connections. "Three agencies from IOCL had also been served suspension notice for various irregularities. Sometimes delivery people act in connivance with the agency and there's no proper supervision of activities of these agencies from the public sector," said Prakash.

He also claimed that public is not aware of the various policies, which is leading to a lot of confusion. "For instance, after the first six subsidised cylinders at Rs 406, consumers will have to shell out Rs 950 from the seventh one onwards, which not many are aware of," Prakash said.

He also pointed out that sometimes, online centres are collecting more money from public. "It's the duty of the agencies to inform the customers about the changed policies. Customers should also keep the phone numbers of the delivery boys with them and coordinate in case they go out on the scheduled days of delivery," the DCSO added.

RELATED

From around the web

More from The Times of India

Recommended By Colombia

From Around the Web

More From The Times of India

Recommended By Colombia

Comments

Characters Remaining: 3000

OR PROCEED WITHOUT REGISTRATION

Share on Twitter

SIGN IN WITH

FacebookGoogleEmail

Refrain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or inflammatory, and do not indulge in personal attacks, name calling or inciting hatred against any community. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines by marking them offensive. Let's work together to keep the conversation civil.

Read more

Most Popular

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi today targeted the BJP-led government at the Centre over the price-rise issue, raising questions over why the rates of essential commodities were skyrocketing at a time when international oil prices have hit record lows.

The overnight seizure of a luxury hotel in Burkina Faso's capital by al-Qaida-linked extremists ended when Burkina Faso and French security forces killed four jihadist attackers and freed more than 126 people, the West African nation's president said.